Set to “The Wheels on the Bus,” the film, “Wheels” updates not only a tired classic, but a tired mindset of parenting perfection. A lonely mother holds her baby and gazes out her window at the world. A diverse array of parents and kids from all walks of life contend with the joys and challenges of parenthood – from trying to catch a nap to working from home to grocery shopping with 3 young kids. As the song escalates, we see the level of difficulty increase: meltdowns, laundry, exhaustion, pumping while on a conference call, until a critical moment of surrender (and relief) happens when a (trans) dad runs a simple, soothing bubble bath that calms down kids and parents together so they can once again feel what it’s all about – perfectly imperfect families just getting through the day.

We don’t have guaranteed health care or childcare in the US. During the pandemic, things became untenable. Since February of 2020, women lost over 5.4 million jobs; parents had to become educators overnight; childcare became a luxury, as many parents-to-be suffered the extreme anxiety of Covid complicating their pregnancies. Meanwhile, Instagram overflowed with perfection: lunch recipes for homeschooled kids, pastel baby bedrooms, and professionally home-baked cakes that raised the unfair bar for all of us.

We set out to make a film that reflected our lived experience: Directed by two working moms with a Latinx DP and an LGBTQ editor, with parent-writers and parent-crews, we filmed real families in their real homes to make something that not only demonstrated the solution, but actively and directly affected the cast and crew. We are so proud of making something so intimate and joyful at a time of such isolation.